Ventilated mattress-box spring combination



Aug. 16, 1966 M. FIGMAN 3,266,064

VENTILATED MATTRESS-BOXSPRING COMBINATION Filed March 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1N VENTOR.

film/PA r I'VE/1AA! Aug. 16, 1966 M. FIGMAN VENTILATED MATTRESS-BOX SPRING COMBINATION Filed March 29, 1963 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Mil/PRAY FIGMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,266,064 VENTILATED MATTRESS-B0 SPRHNG COMBINATEON Murray Figman, 15354 75th Ave, Flushing, N.Y. Filed Mar. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 269,209 3 Claims. (Cl. 5347) The present invention relates to a bedspring construction, and it particularly relates to a bedspring construction which can be used as part of a system for heating and cooling a bed.

The present invention will be especially described in its application to a box spring construction which functions in connection with a foam type mattress and which will have heating and cooling arrangements.

Although not limited thereto, the present invention will be particularly described in its application to a combination of a lower box spring and an upper mattress, desirably of a foam or specifically a rubber foam material in which the heating and cooling effect will be achieved by circulation of air from the box spring into the mattress.

It has been found unsatisfactory to place heating and cooling units directly in a mattress in view of the fact that such a mattress is closely adjacent to the body of the person resting upon the mattress and any tubing, casings or other constructions positioned Within the mattress will likely come to the attention of the person resting thereupon and cause discomfort.

Furthermore, any connections made directly to the mattress will interfere with making up the bed and generally with the housekeeping work associated in connection with either preparing a bed for sleeping purposes or making up the bed after it has been slept in.

It is therefore among the primary objects of the present invention to provide a heating and cooling system for a bed in .which either hot or cold air may be circulated thereinto and therethrough for the comfort of the sleeper or use thereof in such a way that there will be no tubing or other equipment placed in the mattress itself and so that the mattress itself will be free to respond to the movements of the body of the sleeper and so that the making up of the bed and the preparation of the bed for sleeping will not be undesirably affected.

It is a further object of the present invention, to provide a system for heating and cooling a bed with circulating, heated or cooled air in such a way that the mattress itself, whether it be of normal construction or of foam rubber or polyurethane foam, will be entirely free and clear of any mechanical air impeller units, wires, tubular connections, or other attachments.

Among the further objects of the present invention, that provide a dual system in which a heating and cooling system may be provided for a double bed with provision that each section of the bed will be independently subject to adjustment in respect to the heating and cooling hereof or in respect to the amount of comfort desired by the particular sleeper therein or resting thereon.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a heating and cooling system fora bed in which there is provided an upper mattress and a lower box spring unit in which all of the air circulating heating or cooling equipment is positioned well below or away from the body of the sleeper and will not create any discomfort or any concern on the part of the sleeper.

Another object is to provide a heating and cooling system for a bed and particularly for a bed having an upper mattress and a lower box spring in which the all flow of air for ventilating, heating or cooling will be initiated in an area of the lower portion of the combination, namely in the lower box spring, well away from the body of the user and where the body of the user will not be subject to any vibration from or contact which, or awareness of the equipment that may be positioned in the lower box spring and which is producing the flow of air for ventilating, heating or cooling purposes.

Still further objects and advantages will be apparent in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the objects according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is desirably provided an upper foam mattress which may be made of foam rubber or foam polyurethane which is positioned upon and held in position by a lower box spring mattress, desirably the upper mattress will have a plurality of closely spaced openings extending therethrough, desirably vertically, so that air, whether heated or cooled, or for ventilating purposes, may be caused to pass therethrough uniformly over the surface thereof and be caused to flow from the upper face of the foam rubber mattress and a distribution which will most lend itself to the comfort of the sleeper.

The lower part of the mattress is desirably connected to the upper face of the box spring in such a manner as to prevent any leakage of air except through the passageways through the mattress and so as to give assurance that the air will be constricted to and caused to flow not around the mattress, but up through the body of the mattress where it will be most effective in regulating the temperature in the area where the sleeper is positioned.

This is desirably accomplished by providing an upwardly extending lip which will extend around and upwardly from the periphery of the upper part of the box spring mattress in which the rubber mattress is engaged.

In the preferred form of the invention, an air intake impeller or oirculator is positioned in the box spring mattress.

The air intake is positioned desirably at one side and preferably in the front thereof with the other sides and bottom of the box spring mattress being provided with an airtight enclosure so as to cause all air which leaves the box spring mattress to pass up through the mattress.

The upper part of the box spring mattress will be provided with a porous or netted or other foraminous covering, or top wall, so that the air may freely pass from the upper part of the box spring mattress into the lower part of the foam mattress and then up through the foam mattress to the upper face thereof.

Desirably, the air inlet is provided with a replaceable filter positioned so as to be readily accessible, at the front of the box spring.

Desirably, the air intake encloses an electrically driven blower and which may be suitably connected to a source of electric power adjacent to or in the vicinity of the bed. All wiring which leads to the intake is desirably concealed within the box spring so that it is not visible from the outside and the wiring is suitably covered or insulated so as to eliminate any possibility of short circuits.

Desirably, the wiring is positioned at midheight along the interior face of the sides of the box spring so that any flexing of the box spring will not affect the same and will not apply any bending stress thereto. The air intake as installed in the spring is also installed so that it is mounted on the side thereof and is desirably free of attachment to the upper side thereof, but it may be attaohed or mounted on the bottom thereof. If desired, sound insulating materials may be placed around the impeller box so as to prevent any vibration and reduce the sound of the impeller so that the sleeper on the mattress will not be disturbed by its operation.

To assure that there will be a firm and airtight seal between the lower edge of the foam mattress and the upper periphery of the box spring, the upwardly ex tending lip from the upper edge of the side, front and back walls of the box spring may be caused not only to project upwardly a substantial distance, tightly to grasp and compress the lower sides of the foam mattress, also either the foam mattress at its lower portion may be made slightly larger in length and width than the space between the lips projecting upwardly from the upper edges of the box spring.

Alternatively, the upper projecting lip or extensions from the side, front and back walls of the box spring may be indented inwardly so as tightly to grasp and seal the lower portion of the foam mattress to give an airtight periphery.

Where it is desired to control the flow of air as between the head of the bed or the foot of the bed, the various passageways may be so arranged in respect to size and spacing that the distribution will be in accordance with the area of the passageways or the spacing.

For example, the passageways which pass through a foam mattress and pick up the air from the porous sheet which forms the top cover of the box mattress, may be more widely spaced adjacent the head of the bed, or the passageways may be made smaller so as to control the flow of air up toward and around the head of the sleeper,

This causes a greater volume of air to be passed through the mattress at other points by more widely spacing the passageways at any area where it is desired to reduce the fiow of air. The flow of air may thus be controlled in respect to the surface of the mattress so that there can be a different flow of air at the head or in the middle portion of the bed adjacent the center part of the body or at the feet as may best suit the comfort and desires of the sleeper or person using the mattress.

For simplicity of construction, the passageways desirably pass vertically through the mattress and are positioned so that they will be transverse or perpendicular to the face of the mattress.

It is of course also possible that there may be branch or oblique passageways provided within the mattress, but since these would involve extra expense, it is desirable to keep the passageways separate, spaced and parallel and each vertical to the face of the box unit where the air originates and also vertical to the top and bottom faces of the mattress.

Preferably, the passageways formed in the foam mattress consist of a series of punctures or perforations which extend directly, vertically, transversely therethrough.

Where a double bed is employed, a dual system of control may be provided, either by providing an impeller box with two outlets which can be controlled to provide an equal or different supply of air to each of the double sections or by providing two impeller boxes. In such instance there is a central partition provided, extending longitudinally of the box spring so that there will be separate air chambers within the box spring, each supplying its own one-half section of the bed and each supplying its own mattress or the combined mattress which may extend over the entire width and length of the bed.

A manual control system may be provided, available to the sleeper or sleepers, which will enable control of the amount of air and the speed of the impeller or blower. Where a double impeller or blower system is used for a double bed, then each impeller may have its own con trol, but where a single impeller is used for a double bed, the control may regulate the amount of air which may flow into each section of the box spring and then through the corresponding section of the mattress.

Since all connections will be directly within the box spring chamber or chambers, it is not necessary to have any tubular connections which are subject. to maladjustment or malfunction between the blower and the box spring which in turn supply the superimposed mattress.

Since the impeller or blower is substantially below the body and separated from the body of the sleeper by the foam mattress, it is possible to utilize heater devices through which the air may be blown and these heater devices may consist of electric heating coils suitably insulated or enclosed within the impeller or blower box and the amount of heat applied to such coils may be suitably regulated.

In addition, instead of using heater coils, it is also possible to employ various types of cells, such as bismuth telluride cell which will have a hot side and a cold side when electric current is applied thereto and suitable regulation may behad from a central switch or a device adjacent to and accessible to the head of the bed and for manual control by the sleeper to cause the air either to pass over the cold side or the hot side of the bismuth telluride cells. The same blower may be utilized in either case, either for passing the air over the heaters or passing it over the bismuth fluoride cells or for direct circulation of the air without heating or cooling into and through the box spring, then through the porous or foraminous top wall or cover of the box spring and then through the vertical passages in the mattress.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination, arrangement of parts, it is hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, where it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the combined foam mattress and box spring with the foam mattress being partly broken away, more clearly to show the construction of the box mattress thereunder;

FIG. 2 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken upon the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a double box spring and double mattress construction showing the interior construction with the top of the box spring and the mattress being partly broken away so that the interior construction may be shown; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

Referring to FIG. 2 there is shown a lower box spring A and an upper foam mattress B. The foam mattress B is superimposed upon the box spring A and may have the same width and length thereof and is desirably slightly in excess of the width and length of the box spring A so that the tight air resistant fit may be made along the periphery of the box spring A and the mat tress B where they fit together.

At the rear of the box spring A-foam mattress B combination, there is shown a control switch C having the outside socket connection D to a source of electric energy and a corresponding socket connection E to the box spring interior electrical wiring system indicated diagrammatically at F.

In FIG. 1 there is shown an impeller or blower receptacle G at the front of the box spring A, but it is obvious that such receptacle may be placed at the side or at the rear of the box spring.

Referring particularly to the single box spring A-foam mattress B combination, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the box spring A is provided with a rear wall 9, a lower wall or bottom 10, the side walls 11, the front wall 12. These walls 11 and 12 have upwardly extending lips or projections 13 and 14.

The box spring A is interiorly lined with a nonporous and nonpermeable material, desirably interior plastic sheeting 15 at the bottom of the mattress and 16 at the sides of the mattress as shown in FIG. 2. This nonpermeable plastic lining -16 may extend the full width and length of the bottom and sides of the mattress so that no air can escape through the box spring at the sides or bottom thereof. The plastic lining 15 may be bolted or clamped in position by bolts 20.

The end wall 12 and the side walls 11 as well as the rear wall 9 at their upper edges, but below the lips 13 and 14, are provided with inwardly extending ledges 17 on which is positioned the porous metal screen or porous foam layer 18.

This permeable top wall extending the full length and width of the interior of the box spring will be the only exit for air from the interior of the box spring A. This permeable cover 18 will be supported by the normal coil spring 28 which are arranged and spaced throughout the length and width of the box spring A.

These springs 28 will support both the foam mattress B as well as the intermediate screening or porous foam cover 18.

The impeller housing G with its heating and cooling units as well as an electric motor and a suitable blower or impeller fan, is placed on the interior bottom of the box spring by means of the screw and bolt 20 and its top wall 21 is positioned substantially below the bottom of the foam mattress B as well as substantially below the porous metal screen or porous foam layer 18 forming the permeable wall partitioning the bottom support for the foam rubber mattress B.

The impeller receptacle G is mounted upon the front wall 12 by the screws or other connections 35. The opening 36 through the front wall 12 of the box spring A to the housing G may receive a filter 37 of the impeller housing F. The filter 37 may be replaceable or may readily be cleauable.

The side walls of the impeller housing G are imperforate but on the top wall 21 and in the rear Wall 39 there may be outlet openings 40 and 41 through which the air either in heated, cooled condition or for ventilating purposes may pass outwardly into the interior space H of box spring A.

Due to the obstruction offered by the metal screen or the porous foam layer 18, and the foam mattress B, the air will circulate or pass through the entire interior H of the box spring A and will thus be distributed so that it will pass uniformly upwardly through the porous screen or cover 18. All electrical connections P will be made along the interior sides of the box spring A.

The electrical connection 42 may extend along the inside of the side wall 11 and it is desirably clipped at intervals as indicated at 43, to the impervious plastic liner 16. It will also extend along the inside face of the front wall 12 as indicated at 44, until it is connected into the casing G at the front end of the box spring A.

Desirably, the plug-in connection E as shown in FIG. 1, is positioned at the corner of the box spring most adjacent the electrical wall outlet D.

The readily accessible switch C that may take the form of a switch box with a suitable knob or handle 45 will turn the impeller fan or blower fan either to ON or OFF position or into an intermediate position. The switch C will also have another handle or lever 46 for regulating the position of the heaters or coolers therein either to give cold air or hot air or merely to give ventilating air. Wiring 47 will extend from the switch box C to .the double prong plug-in 48 which may plug into the wall outlet. The electrical conduit 49 from the switch box C has a plug-in connection 5% This may be of the multiple prong type as indicated at 51 to plug into the receptacle E on the side of the mattress to connect to the internal electrical circuit 42 and 44 and to the impeller housing G.

The foam mattress B, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, desirably has a greater width and greater dimension at its lower bottom portion 65 so that it will be substantially compressed inside the upstanding lips 13 and 14 of the box spring A and thus prevent any escape of air along the side edges of the combination box spring A and foam rubber mattress B.

The spaced vertical passageways 66, are shown as evenly spaced and extending vertically through the mattress B over the entire Width and length thereof. The spacing may be varied in accordance with whether a greater or lesser amount of air whether for ventilating, heating or cooling purposes is desired at the head, the foot or intermediate portion of the mattress B. Although the passageways 66 are all shown as having the same dimension and diameter, they may also be of varying dimension so as to assure that there will be a controlled distribution of air if so desired.

Desirably, the obstructing effect of the passageways 66 is such as to cause the air to distribute itself over the surface of the mattress without an excess of air flowing through the openings or passageways 66 more closely adjacent the casing G than more remote therefrom.

Desirably the velocity of volume of air produced by the impeller or blower box G will be such as to substantially assure that there will be a suflicient flow for uniform distribution over the entire area of the foam rubber mattress B, with any variation over the width and length of the foam mattress B being due to the varying spacing of the openings 66 or due to the regulation of the sizes of the openings or diameters of the through vertical openings 66.

In the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, there is a double mattress arrangement.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 there is shown an upper double width foam mattress M with a lower double width box spring N.

At the front of the box spring N there are two impeller housings P, which are individually controlled by the two switch boxes Q which have connections to the wall plug R and to the box spring inlet plugs S, positioned at the sides or corners of the box spring most adjacent the wall switch R.

The box spring has the exterior side walls 70, the front wall 71 and the bottom wall 72, which are lined with the impervious liners 73 and 74 to prevent any air escaping through the sides or bottoms of the box spring N. As shown, the plastic impervious liner 73 is extended along the bottom wall 72 and similar liners 74 along the side walls 70 (see FIG. 4).

The liner 73 and bottom wall 72 may be held togetheras indicated at 75 or they may be adhesively connected in position so as to form an impervious facing on the interior of the sides, back, front and bottom of the box spring, permitting air only to pass outwardly through the top of the box spring.

Separating the space T within the box spring into equal parts is a central partition 76 having the T head 77. The partition 76 extends the full length of the box spring N. The lower end of the partition 76 may be suitably supported upon the inside lining 73 of the bottom 72 of the box spring N. Below the T head 77 will be the cross members 78 to reinforce and separate the sides and also to position the partition 76 in the center of the box spring N so that it will not shift out of position.

In the form shown, two of these horizontal reinforcement means are as best shown in FIG. 3 extending from side to side of the box spring and also up to and under the T head 77 of the central partition T.

The front wall 71 of the box spring may have the openings 79 through which the room air is drawn into the impeller housings P where it may be heated or cooled or merely directed outwardly through the openings 80 into the interior spaces T of the double box spring, one opening 80 delivering air for ventilating purpose or heating or cooling, to one of the side spaces T and the other opening 80 to the other side space T.

The interior side walls will also carry the inwardly extending lip or ledge 81 at the sides and 82 at the rear of the upper portions of the side Walls 79 and 71. Over the T heads 77 and on top of the ledges S1 and 82 will be positioned a porous foam material foam rubber metal screening partition or screening 110, which will be supported both by the ledges 81 and 82 and by the T head 77.

The porous foam rubber or screening 81 will permit passage of air from the compartments T on each side of the central partitioning wall into the mattress M. The upward extensions 111 at the sides of the box spring A and 112 at the front of the box spring A and 113 at the rear of the box spring A will serve to engage and grasp and compress the lower ends of lower portions of the sides, back and front of the foam rubber mattress M.

This will prevent movement of air except through the porous partition 110 into the foam rubber mattress VI. The foam rubber mattress M is shown as one single mattress extending from side to side and the full length of the box spring N, but it is obvious that two separate mattresses could be utilized.

The central portion of the foam rubber mattress above the T head, as indicated at 85, will be supported directly upon the T head 77 and will be devoid of any openings or perforations therein so as to form an additional separation together with the partition 76 and the T head 77 between the air flowing outwardly from the opposite compartments T of the box spring N.

The through passageways 86 which are spaced over the width and length of each side section 88 of the foam rubber mattress will permit the air whether ventilating, heating or cooling to flow from the compartments T up through the porous screening or other material 81 and through the mattress up to the sleeper.

These passageways 85 may also be equally distributed over the entire face of the foam rubber mattress M or they may be more closely spaced at the head or the foot where it is desirable to have different distributions of heating, cooling or ventilating air.

Although they are all shown as equally spaced and of the same dimension, they may be of different dimension and different spacing so as to achieve such desired distri bution of heating, ventilating or cooling air. Between the partition 76 and the side walls 70 there will be a series of coil springs 89 which will support the porous separator or screening 110 as it is positioned over the T head 77 and the ledges 81 and 82.

If desired, as shown in FIG. 3, the springs 89 may also be supported on the cross slats 120, and could be positioned directly on top of the interior plastic lining 73, which is not shown in FIG. 4. In the switch arrangement, as shown in FIG. 3, there is provided separate ON and OFF switches 121 and separate control switches 122 as in the switch boxes Q. The control boxes Q are connected by the cables 123 to the plug-in members 124.

From the switch Q at the other side, the cables 125 are connected to the plug-in elements 126 which may be connected to the box spring inlet connections S, one being provided at each side of the box spring N, adjacent the control switch boxes Q.

It is thus apparent that the present applicant has provided a novel box spring mattress combination in which the motor and air circulating constructions G and P are positioned in the front of the box springs A and N.

The rotating machanism included in the boxes G and P is away from the sleeper and is insulated therefrom both by the box spring and the mattress B, and the sleeper is not aware thereof.

The mattress may be simply constructed and is devoid of grommets or tubular connections and is also devoid of any wires or other attachments.

There will be no vibration or hum which will annoy the sleeper and all connected units, including the electrical conduits and air circulating means, will be concealed within the box spring and will be tamper-proof.

The porous member 18 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and 110 of FIGS. 3 and 4 will permit ready ascent of the air from the box spring into the mattress openings 66 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and S6 of FIGS. 3 and 4. The single control of FIG. 1 indicated by the control box C, and the double control indicated by the control box Q in FIG. 3 may be readily utilized and installed.

By means of using the box spring as a conduit, tubular connections between the blower boxes G and P and the mattress B and M are eliminated. Various types of air blower devices may be employed.

I claim:

1. A combination ventilating box spring and mattress comprising a box spring, a mattress supported thereon, said box spring receiving an air circulator, electrical connections to the circulator on the inside of the box spring, and a permeable upper wall through which air may pass upwardly and said mattress having a plurality of passageways therethrough, said spring having an upwardly extending lip around the upper periphery thereof, engaging and cutting off air fiow except through said mattress from the box spring, said combination spring and mattress consisting of a lower circulating compartment, said mattress being positioned upon the upper wall and said mattress being about the same height and width as the box spring and said mattress having a series of spaced restriction vertical openings over the entire top face thereof.

2. The combination of claim 1, the spring and mattress being for a single bed.

3. The combination of claim 1, the spring and mattress being for a double bed and said spring having two separate airtight compartments, each compartment having air circulating means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,891,903 12/1932 Bang 5-384 2,400,790 5/1946 Tolen 5-347 X 2,587,731 3/1952 Irving 5-347 X 2,978,972 4/1961 Hake 5-347 X FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COMBINATION VENTILATING BOX SPRING AND MATTRESS COMPRISING A BOX SPRING, A MATTRESS SUPPORTED THEREON, SAID BOX SPRINGS RECEIVING AN AIR CIRCULATOR, ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS TO THE CIRCULATOR ON THE INSIDE OF THE BOX SPRING AND A PERMEABLE UPPER WALL THROUGH WHICH AIR MAY PASS UPWARDLY AND SAID MATTRESS HAVING A PLURALITY OF PASSAGEWAYS THERETHROUGH, SAID SPRING HAVING AN UPWARD EXTENDING LIP AROUND THE UPPER PERIPHERY THEREOF, ENGAGING AND CUTTING OFF AIR FLOW EXCEPT THROUGH SAID MATTRESS FROM THE BOX SPRING, SAID COMBINATION SPRING AND MATTRESS CON- 